Love Hurts
by Yaoi Is My Love
Summary: Smoker takes a nap in his chair in the Marine Headquarters when he heard Ace was in the city Logue Town. He searched for him but to no avail. He gave up and decided to have a drink at a bar. Who would have guessed a certain pirate would be there...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece in any way. I am just one of the many fans who like One Piece. The owner to this anime/manga is Oda Eiichiro.**

It was a peaceful afternoon and only the birds chirping could be heard through the window of the Marine Headquarters. A certain marine was taking a nap in his chair taking a breath from his cigars from time to time when a furious knock on his door woke him up followed by the voice of his subordinate Tashigi.

"Smoker Taisa! We have a problem! Smoker Taisa!"

"What is it Tashigi?" Smoker didn't feel like hearing the problem since he was being interrupted during his nap plus it was probably something minor anyways.

"Some Whitebeard Pirates have been spotted in Logue Town and are roaming the city; some villagers also stated that they have seen the second in command Portgas D Ace!"

That name jerked the marine wide awake and rushed to open the door so quickly that it scared his subordinate who tried to step backwards but ended up tripping on her own feet and dropping her glasses. Smoker Taisa sighed. _"Why do I put up with you?"_ he thought to himself but shrugged it off. "I'll handle Portgas D Ace, you and the others capture the rest!" shouted Smoker running for the main door ready to catch the second in command.

"Glasses...glasses...my glasses..." running her palm on the floor. Once she found her glasses Tashigi stood up immediately and saluted her superior who already disappeared.

"Alert the other marines and have them conduct a full search of the entire Whitebeard's crew, also have some men surround Logue Town so they won't escape!" ordered Smoker.

"Understood Smoker Taisa I'll alert the other mar...-GYAHH- "began Tashigi but tripped landed on the floor with a loud thud her hand ran across the floor trying to find her glasses again.

After an hour of searching for the pirate, Smoker decided to take a break. He found a pub called Gold Roger bar and went inside, he scanned around for an empty seat and found one between two drunken men. The bar was crowded and the noise level was not to Smoker's liking. He ordered a glass of rum, swiftly downed the drink and was about to leave when he heard a childish voice laughing in the pub.

The marine turned his head to the familiar sound and saw the second in command sitting casually, beer in hand laughing to his crew. Smoker studied the carefree boy who wore black knee length trousers with black boots to match and a long black cloak with fire red patterns at the end of the sleeves and the hem.

Smoker thought about capturing the boy there and then but thought against it so he turned the other way and pretended that he didn't see the fire user, sighing as he left. Unknowing to the marine, a certain pirate caught a glimpse of two cigars walking to the front door leaving. Ace thought that it would be a good chance to mess with the marines. Especially Smoker and decided to follow him before excusing himself from his crew.

After supper Smoker went to his office but as soon as he reached the door he felt an uneasy presence lingering inside. Slowly he reached out and turned the handle. Sitting in his chair with both legs over the table with a cheeky grin on his face was none other than Portgas D Ace.

"Hey Smokey! How you doing?"

_To be continued..._

**I really like this pairing so I made up a story for them. I have other pairings in mind as well so there will be other stories that will be uploaded aswell. This is my first time writing something like this so I hope you guys like it.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Portgas D Ace. What're you doing here? Hurry up and get out of here before I send you to the gallows!" The marine gritted his teeth while closing the door behind him

"Aww, come on Taisa, don't be so cold, I came to see you specifically as well" smirked the younger male swinging on Smoker's chair showing no sign of fear in front of the captain.

"What do you want? I'm busy as it is with your crew running around this city like a bunch of kids, your little brother is also a nuisance" Smoker lit up two cigars and inhaled the tobacco scent before exhaling spreading the substance around the room. He grabbed Ace's arm and flung him onto the sofa.

Ace thought that he would be thrown out of the office but instead he landed on the sofa. He sat there for ten minutes staring at Smoker until he decided to find something to do. He found a book and sat near the open window feeling the cool night breeze brush past his chest. Smoker looked at the boy sitting at the window sill so absorbed in the book. _"Good, he's quiet and that's what I need right now"_

After three hours of silence a childish voice whined "I'm _bored_ Smokey, let's play a game" grinned the pirate closing his book and got off from the window sill. He walked over to the marine and stood at the front desk "You'll never get all these paperwork finished by tonight anyways, just take a break and relax"

"I'll never get them finished if you don't be quiet" said the marine not bothering to listen to the childish pirate, he wasn't going to lose concentration from his paperwork and get distracted. He still had half a pile of papers to finish which must be handed in to his superiors before tomorrow morning.

The boy knew that Smoker wasn't going to get all of them done by tonight and he thought the marine really needed a break since he could see that he was getting frustrated and felt sorry for him._ Poor guy..._

Ace saw half the stack of papers flip upwards by the wind and placed a hand on it to stop it from being blown over but missed by half a second and they fell to the floor. _"Ah..."_ was all that came out before Smoker looked up seeing papers on the floor.

The fact that he organised the stack of papers for three weeks were now on the floor pissed him off. He scanned his eyes around the room and saw that the windows were wide open, there were also books everywhere and the boy was making the stack of papers even messier by the looks of it. He got out of his chair and stormed over to the window slamming it shut and tidying up the bookshelf.

"Portgas you little brat! What the hell are you doing here for? You're messing things up and why are you still here anyway?"

Ace picked up the pile of papers and placed them on the desk. "I'm bored Taisa, I thought I would be able to quieten down a little by reading some books but... it seems it didn't work. But don't worry, your paperwork is all in a neat pile again and in order" he spun round to see a vein throb on Smoker's head.

"At least put them back where you took them from instead of leaving them all over the place!" shouted Smoker. Then he stormed over to the front desk and pinning the boy's back onto the desk and bound his hands above his head in a vice like grip.

Ace just stared into the eyes of an angry marine, looking amused. "How do you know it's in order? Did you go through these papers?" asked Smoker frowning

Ace blinked and looked innocent as if he wasn't involved at all, that just annoyed Smoker more and held onto the pirate's hands tighter. The boy showed no sign of discomfort "_Get out of here now! Or I will personally cuff you myself and personally see you..."_ hissed the captain but he didn't manage to finish his sentence before a knock came rapping on his door which shocked both Smoker and the fire user.

"Smoker Taisa!" it was his subordinate Tashigi

"I have a report! We have arrested three members of the Whitebeard's crew but they managed to escape by injuring twenty members of our group and some are even critically injured!"

Upon hearing this message Smoker was a little alarmed by the news, so absorbed in thinking the next step to counter the enemy's tactics he loosened the grip on Ace allowing the freckled boy to slip his hands away just by half a centimetre.

"Tashigi! Treat to the injured people first, stop the pursuing for now and comple-oomph-"

Smoker didn't get to finish his sentence before two small lithe hands took hold of his face and his lips were taken by another, his eyes widened at the sudden contact by a pair of unfamiliar lips touching his own. Ace stared in the eyes of a stunned marine and smirked in the kiss.

Smoker shook himself out of his frozen state and pushed the young pirate off of him. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve jacket and looked at the cheeky grin spread across Ace's face. _"You are so dead..." _thought Smoker when another rapping noise came through the door.

"Smoker Taisa! Are you alright?" came the voice of Tashigi; she wondered why her captain abruptly stopped giving out orders for the next procedure and asked if she could come in. Before Smoker could reply to her question the handle to the door was turned and a worried subordinate walked into the room.

"Smoker Taisa are you alright? Do you need a rest? What happened?" Tashigi continuously bombarded her superior with questions that he didn't even have any space to answer any of them, upon hearing the windows burst open he turned around in time to see the back of Ace's jacket fly out of the window and gave his subordinate one reply.

"Portgas D. Ace"

"I'm sorry Smoker Taisa... did you just say Portgas D. Ace?" her body stood alert straight away. "Would you like me to pursue him Taisa?"

"No. There's no point. You won't be able to catch up to him now. As I have said before, see to the injured first, stop all the pursing for the Whitebeard crew and increase the number of men to surround the city and stay on your guard!"

"Understood Smoker Taisa!" and immediately rushed off to carry out the order.

Still facing the window where the fire user had left, smoker went and leaned on the window sill. "Portgas..." was all he could say before he sat back down on his chair and continued with his papers.

_To be continued..._

**Woo! The second chapter of my story is now done! I'm not sure if the way I ended it was good because I couldn't think of any way to end it other than this. If I think up of a better ending I may change it. Hope you guys like the second part of my story ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

It had almost been a month since the Whitebeard pirates had decided to stay in Logue Town unexpectedly and for what purpose the marines still haven't figured out, Smoker was walking down the streets with Tashigi and the rest of the marines thinking about the incident about the fire fist pirate Portgas D. Ace.

Memories of what happened in his office flashed back into his brain: the minute he opened his mouth to speak, the moment his mouth was taken by a cheeky little brat._ "Why did he do that?"_ thought Smoker as he reached into his left jacket for his two cigars, lighting them with his lighter.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when one of his subordinates abruptly stepped in front of him asking for the orders to be carried out to re-capture the Whitebeard pirates. "Huh? Err...gather the other members and surround this to- "began Smoker but was cut off by another marine.

"You've already ordered us to do that Taisa, we're looking out for them right now"

"Oh, I see...then... carry on with the lookout and report back to me about any suspicious movements!" ordered Smoker looking stern and serious again. "Yes sir!" chorused the marines and began to split into groups to have a higher opportunity of capturing those sneaky pirates.

"What's wrong Smoker Taisa? You're usually so composed and relaxed but today you look like you're deep in thought. Did something happen?" asked Tashigi looking a little worried.

"No...Nothing. Just thinking about something" said Smoker rubbing the back of his head trying to think of a good excuse to stop his subordinate from asking any further, there's no way he can tell her that a Whitebeard crew member came into his office and kissed him out of the blue.

"Just make sure everywhere is being watched by the marines and report anything suspicious right away"

"Yes sir!" saluted Tashigi and went to supervise her group of men to another area.

"Damn you Portgas! If I ever see you again I'll personally cuff you and send you to the gallows!" Smoker mumbled and took a long drag on his cigar.

"Would you really do that Taisa?" said a voice to his right

"Of course I would. Why do you think I...?" began Smoker but stopped abruptly and turned his head to the voice he just heard.

Portgas D. Ace walked side by side next to the captain with a smug expression on his face, untroubled to the fact that there are marines anywhere and he could be caught any minute. The captain made a grab for the younger's arm but Ace saw it coming, he dodged the hand and spun around, pulling on the captain's jacket forward just enough to place a quick kiss on Smoker's cheek before he was gone.

Smoker's face was flushed; his body still while he tried to find out where Ace could have hidden considering Logue Town wasn't such a big city. He thought about the place that he had first saw the fire user and gave it a shot.

He walked down the streets having a quick look around for any pirate crew members lurking around. His eyes caught a few gazes from a few ladies but shrugged it off focusing more on the criminals, other than that, there was nothing particular happening.

When Smoker reached the bar hidden along the alleyway he saw a sign stuck to the door saying that the owner had gone for a vacation and won't be back within a month. "Shit! Just when I thought I found a clue, where the hell can that brat hide?"

He sighed and turned back to begin his search elsewhere when a small shadowy figure reflected off the floor and Smoker knew he wasn't alone. He looked up to see Ace sitting on the rooftop grinning. "You have sharp eyes Taisa; I didn't think I would be spotted that easily"

Ace jumped down from the roof in front of Smoker and wrapped his arms around his waist, leaning his head on the broad muscular chest and inhaling the tobacco scent coming from the marine.

"What do you think you're doing you little brat?" Smoker frowned knowing he can pry the kid off of him if he wanted to.

"Giving you a hug" replied Ace if it wasn't obvious enough and tightened his grip around Smoker's waist making him scowl

Finally Smoker had had enough and pulled the arms away and pinned the pirate up against the wall, his face showing a displeased expression.

Ace thought that Smoker was going to take the initiative to do something fun but the Taisa just stared at him, deep in thought as if the fire inside Smoker had disappeared so Ace decided to make the first move. He placed a gentle kiss onto the elder's lips; the sudden contact with a pair of unfamiliar lips brought the smoke man back to reality and he pulled away from the kiss.

"Why do you keep doing that?" asked Smoker wiping his mouth with the back of his hand shooting a death glare at the young pirate.

"Because I love you" said Ace without any hesitation in his voice.

Smoker stared at the boy in the eyes raising an eyebrow. "Wha...what did you say?"

"I said, because I love you"

Smoker couldn't believe his ears._ "The notorious Whitebeard pirates, second in command, in love with a marine? You've got to be kidding me"_ thought Smoker and straightened back to his original posture.

"Quit messing around kid and get serious" shaking Ace's shoulders hoping he wouldn't spout any of that nonsense again. "When are you going to learn to grow up?"

"I'm not messing around, I really do love you" this time Ace blushed a little and looked away from the captain hoping he wouldn't need to say it the fourth time. Smoker watched as the blush spread across Ace's face and let go of the boy's shoulders.

The captain face palms himself and sighs. He turned his back preparing to head back to the Marine Headquarters. "I'll pretend that I didn't hear any of that. Hurry up and get back to your crew, if Whitebeard heard you saying those things aloud to a marine he won't be very happy. I'll also pretend that I didn't see you today so be grateful". The marine's voice sounded tired after hearing Ace's sudden outburst. He needed to clear his head. Now.

Ace pouted little when Smoker said he didn't believe him and chose to ignore his confession but he couldn't blame him. A pirate falling for a marine is unheard of. He walked in front of the marine and gave Smoker a final kiss before he leapt onto the roof and disappeared.

Smoker headed back to the Marine Headquarters and sat down with a cup of coffee. He began to skim through a pile of wanted posters that had been printed out this afternoon when he came across a face with freckles. _"To think that a brat like him would make such a confession..."_ Smoker murmured silently to himself he definitely didn't see that one coming.

Sure, the boy liked to joke around a lot and was never serious but today it felt like he saw a different Ace. It had only been nearly a month ever since Ace kissed him out of the blue and today, not only was he being kissed again he was also told that the boy liked him _a lot_.

Smoker let out a sigh and slowly sipped his coffee and went back to search through the wanted posters hoping to set his mind back to focus. Three minutes later a knock at his door made him stop his tactical thinking and looked up to see a low ranking officer standing in the door way with a salute. "Smoker Taisa! I have a report"

"What is it?" asked Smoker. He hoped the report didn't have anything to do with Portgas D. Ace right now because he certainly didn't want to face the fire user right now.

"It's a report about the Blackbeard pirates' captain. Apparently he was recognised by a few villagers today and we have already begun a full search on this man. This pirate didn't show any signs of bad activity so we think that he wouldn't move until he set himself on a target."

"Is that all?" asked Smoker taking in all the information he just received. The Blackbeard pirates' capturing priority is not far behind from the Whitebeard pirates and the Straw hat pirates. His brain was beginning to think up of a better plan than just doing a full search for that man. "No it isn't, we have a few reports about the Whitebeard pirates' Portgas D. Ace with the captain Blackbeard. Wherever Blackbeard goes, Portgas D. Ace would always be on the list as well"

This made Smoker pause. _"Why would that brat have anything to do with Blackbeard? Both of them are on different sides aren't they? They're both pirates so why... It's as if that brat is searching for Blackbeard"_. Smoker nodded to the officer telling him that he got the message and sat down in his chair deep in thought.

All of a sudden, Smoker came up with a brilliant plan. It was a plan that may be a bit dangerous and risky but he didn't care, all he cared about was capturing the Blackbeard pirates. Consequences come later. His plan should be flawless if it went well, and his plan involves a certain pirate with freckles.

_To be continued..._

**Okay, this is the third chapter of my story finally complete! I can't wait to think up of another chapter for this pairing already! I have no idea how long this story is going to turn out so it might take a while for me to completely finish this pairing. I hope you don't mind =D**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Ace you're up early, going to see the sunrise again?" asked one of Ace's crewmates climbing onto the top of the watch spot to look out for enemies. "I think our navigator is pretty smart, stealing another ship beforehand otherwise you wouldn't be able to do this"

"Yeah Marco, isn't it great to look at the sun before it sets?" replied Ace completely ignoring his first mate's second remark and staring far into the distance hoping to catch the first sign of sunlight. The only reply to the question was a sigh of amusement from the watcher.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes when a thin stream of light pushed its way up into the sky; the daylight gradually soared higher and higher while Ace and Marco watched until it was at the peak shining the warmth onto the two young men.

"Hmm, you're right. It does look pretty when you see it rise"

"Isn't it? Would you like to watch it together again?"

"Nah, I'd rather sleep in my bed which is nice and warm than sitting out on the deck trying to catch the sun" Marco sat down onto the floor hugging his body tightly to keep himself warm. "Sometimes I'm a little envious of you Ace since you ate the fire devil fruit you're always nice and warm"

Ace laughed and jumped down from the watch spot and decided to have an early breakfast before he left so he headed down to the kitchen where he made himself a sandwich using a slice of ham, a light spread of butter, a few slices of tomato and two slices of lettuce. _"Healthy..."_ he thought to himself and sat down to eat.

After three minutes of eating, enjoying his cup of tea and cleaning everything Ace got up and headed for the door when the handle was turned from the outside and Ace stood face to face with the ship's cook.

"Good morning cook san, going to prepare breakfast for everyone already?" asked Ace stepping aside to let the cook pass

"Morning Ace, Yeah, it's best to make food for them now since they're always hungry just like you" laughed the cook half-heartedly. "Going out this early, did you have something to eat beforehand?"

"I had a sandwich and a cup of tea just now so it should hold until lunchtime, tell dad that I won't be back for a while and also tell him not to worry too much" replied Ace turning his back on the cook and closing the door. He headed back up to the deck and jumped off from the side of the railings, instead of landing into the sea, a small boat caught him which was already geared up with a rucksack allowing him to set off at any moment.

By the time Ace reached Logue Town the sun was already high up into the sky shining down its radiance onto the people buzzing through the busy streets. Ace parked his small boat near a rock where it should be safe for now.

He rummaged through his rucksack and put on a white short sleeved shirt and navy blue jacket; he took off his black knee-length shorts and wore cream coloured trousers with white sandals and a light brown hat. Stowing away his black hat with red beads, his red bead necklace and any other trademarks that may give him away, he made sure that with this new look he would be unrecognisable or at least hard to spot; when the coast was clear he slipped out into the streets and mingled in with the other pedestrians just as three marines marched past. It seems like it was time to change shifts. "Hey, how's everything going?" asked one of the marines who came to take watch on the Whitebeard pirates' ship and sat down.

"Nothing's happening, it's pretty boring, and we're just sitting here guarding an empty ship. I'm guessing those damn pirates are using another ship as camouflage and when everything is settled they'll come and collect their main ship back" replied a marine who was getting ready to leave. "Well, we'll leave it to you guys now, see ya"

"_This marine's smart, but even if you find out do you think you can catch us?"_ Ace thought to himself. After the three marines was far away, Ace left the mingling crowd of people and decided to head straight for Smoker's headquarters, but as soon as he turned a corner he saw more marines that were patrolling and kept his head down low. The marines just walked past him and continued to patrol as if Ace hadn't existed.

"_Great. This disguise should fool the marines for a while"_ he thought to himself. He knew that Smoker wouldn't be like the rest of his subordinates who were so careless and clumsy so he had to make sure to be extra cautious with that man.

Ace decided to check out the situation before doing anything rash. He walked around the town making sure not to bump into too many marines as that would be too obvious. After two hours of roaming around the city his stomach rumbled telling him that he should eat. He saw a small restaurant and went inside.

"Welcome sir, what would you like to order?" asked the waiter standing beside Ace

"I would like to order a large bowl of pork ramen please"

"Yes of course, please wait a minute"

Fifteen minutes later when Ace finished and paid for his meal, he set out to find Smoker again but he didn't watch where he was going, bumped into something hard and landed on the floor. He sat up straight and began to apologise.

"I'm really sorry" spluttered Ace who bent his head low apologising and at the same time making sure he didn't get spotted. "I'm fine, are you alright?" asked a husky voice who extended out his hand to Ace.

"I'm fine thank you" Ace took the offered hand and pulled himself up thanking the person who helped him up. He looked up to take a sneak peek but quickly dipped back down pulled his hat forward, for the person that he bumped into was none other than Smoker Taisa himself. Ace let go of the marine captain's hand and placed it back by his side. Smoker felt as though he had come across this hand before and stared down at the boy.

"Are you sure you're alright? You're sweating a lot, you're not hurt anywhere are you?" asked one of the marines who stood behind Smoker

"Ah! yes- I'm really fine thank you" he bowed his head even lower and hurriedly walked past the group of marines hoping no-one recognised him, especially Smoker.

Smoker watched as the boy walked hastily out of sight, he could vaguely catch a glimpse of a few freckles on the stranger's cheek. He continued to stare until he was completely gone.

"_A boy with freckles..."_ pondered Smoker. Then realisation hit him, he told his subordinates to continue with their patrol while he went to check up on the others.

Smoker rushed a little to where the freckled boy had just disappeared and spotted the brown hat with short raven hair. He quickened his pace, reached out to grab at the lithe arm and spun the frightened boy around to face him. Ace met face to face with a scowling marine.

"Portgas D. Ace..." Smoker murmured, he didn't expect anyone to hear him but Ace did and his whole body flinched. He didn't think he'd be caught that fast. Smoker felt the tremor through the grip and straightened the look on his face but didn't let go.

"P-please let go sir, I'm in a hurry so..." stammered Ace. He was usually a chatterbox and a daring child but for some reason Ace didn't act like he usually did which puzzled him. Just then a line of marines strolled past; Smoker saw the marines nearby and understood why Ace was all tensed up. _"A wise decision"_ he thought and pulled the fire user away from the pedestrians and into the back of a shop. Smoker removed his thick gloves, stuffing it in his jacket, pulled Ace's hat off, ruffling the boy's silky smooth hair and throwing the hat on top of the fallen rucksack.

"O-oi...Smoker what are you doing?" asked Ace who tried to get out of the smoke man's tough grip and at the same time trying to grab his hat back so he wouldn't be seen

Smoker ignored the question and gripped onto the Ace's other free hand and pinned it against the wall. Ace was about to say something again but words never came out because he found his lips being pressed against Smoker's own.

Ace's eyes widened in surprise, he never would have thought that Smoker would kiss him since he wasn't the type of guy to do romantic things but he shrugged it off and enjoyed the feeling of Smoker's lips on his. Smoker looked at the boy who closed his eyes and decided to take it one step further, he leaned forward pressing his body against the younger's and licked the boy's bottom lip asking for entrance.

Ace opened his mouth straight away which Smoker took the initiative to push his tongue inside the warm cavern and sucked on the moist tongue earning a moan from the fire user. Smoker let go of Ace's hands and pulled the small body closer, tilting the head back and pushed his tongue in further, deepening the kiss.

After several minutes of tongue battle they pulled away for air, both panting trying to catch their breaths. Ace turned his head away from Smoker but the marine just placed a light kiss on his cheek and hugged him tightly breathing in the younger's scent. Ace wrapped his arms around Smoker's neck and nuzzled onto his jacket which was filled with the tobacco scent due to always smoking so much.

"Ne...Taisa, why did you kiss me?" asked Ace, wondering why a marine captain who always hated pirates would be so reluctant to kiss a cheeky brat like him. "I love you" was all Smoker whispered in his ear before he kissed Ace passionately on the lips. Ace melted into the kiss, his brain going haywire after hearing such a confession from the person he loved.

Ace pulled away from the kiss touching Smoker's forehead with his, closing his eyes and smiled. "Smoker, thank you for loving me" Smoker looked at the boy who was content at his reply showing a happy expression on his face, his heart skipped a beat and he immediately felt guilty. He didn't think that he would have feelings for this cheeky brat at all but his heart was telling him otherwise. Smoker chuckled which made Ace open his eyes to see Smoker smiling in front of him. "No way" said Ace in a surprised tone. "The White Hunter Smoker actually laughed! That sounds so unbelievable!" exclaimed Ace; his face was split into a huge grin while Smoker frowned.

The white hunter took one of Ace's hands and gently placed it on his lips giving it a kiss. "It's not that I don't smile, I just find it hard to since you have to look after your subordinates and they just do the wrong things all the time"

Ace gave a sympathetic smile and kissed Smoker's cheek. "It was nice meeting you today, I was planning on going to your room to find you but you found me instead. I'll see you later then" Ace picked up his hat and was about to grab for his rucksack but was stopped by a large hand. "You can still go there right now if you want" offered Smoker carrying the rucksack and pulling him back put into the crowd.

When they reached Smoker's room Ace was met with a pair of vigorous lips smashing against his, a tongue continuously invaded the wet mouth licking and sucking on the other's tongue as if trying desperately to suck all the energy out of him while Ace moaned inside the hot mouth. The younger tapped onto the smoke man's shoulder and breathed heavily, Smoker stopped and pulled away allowing him to catch his breath.

"W-wouldn't it be bad...if anyone finds out there's a pirate in your ro-" began Ace but was abruptly cut off by Smoker. "What? You're scared of a few measly marines?"He sniggered and carried Ace towards the bed. Ace looked into the Taisa's black pupils, the colour was so clear that he could see his own reflection in them.

Smoker crawled onto the bed so he was on top of the pirate and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and began to slowly kiss his way down. He started with his forehead, and then went down to his cheek, nose and lips. At the same time a hand began to take off the navy blue jacket dropping it on the floor while another hand slipped its way under the white shirt reaching up to brush against Ace's nipple, Smoker felt it harden and smirked. Smoker leaned on Ace's neck and licked the tanned skin where he felt a pulse racing, the marine sucked onto the vein adding a little pressure, biting the vein and leaving a purplish mark.

Once the shirt has been removed Smoker unzipped the trousers and slid his hands inside feeling a small bulge reacting to his touch. Ace's face turned pink as Smoker lifted out his arousal exposing it in the air. Smoker licked at the head leaking precum and consumed the cock all the way to the root, earning a loud moan from Ace. Smoker licked at the length before pulling out half way and consumed the cock again sucking and biting while two hands gripped onto his hair. The body above him let out small gasps, trying not to come too early.

Suddenly Smoker quickened his pace surprising Ace who gripped onto Smoker's hair tighter "S-Smo-Smoker…Wai-wait…I'm gonna…" was all the warning Smoker got before hot liquid squirted into his mouth. The marine licked the white substance and swallowed it. _"It's thick…I guess he hasn't done this before"_ thought Smoker looking up at Ace who was panting hard.

Ace looked at Smoker and couldn't believe that he just got serviced by a marine captain. While Smoker took his heavy jacket off Ace's eyes marvelled at the muscular body in front of him. It felt so unreal that he was in a marine's room with Smoker beginning to make out. He was pulled out of his thoughts when something wet poked at his entrance. When Ace looked he was already naked, his clothes on the floor with an equally naked marine and a pair of coal black eyes staring straight at him. Apparently while Ace's mind was elsewhere Smoker managed to get his fingers lubed and began to push a wet finger inside the tight hole.

It felt weird having something inside but it wasn't unbearable until another finger pushed past the tight ring of muscles made Ace gasp, Smoker leaned forward and whispered "Relax your body, it'll hurt less if you loosen up" Ace nodded and relaxed his muscles while Smoker prepared him for much more. He pulled his fingers back and pushed back in repeating the action a couple of times. Smoker made a scissoring motion and pushed in a third finger. He allowed Ace to adjust to the feeling, Ace slowly rocked forward to show that he was okay so Smoker decided to pull his fingers out half way and push in back again deeper this time aiming for the one spot that would make anyone go crazy; he could tell he found it when Ace bit his bottom lip to hide a soft groan.

"Don't hold back, just let your voice out" urged Smoker thrusting his fingers in more aiming at Ace's prostate and seeing his facial expression harden. "No way, what happens if someone hears?" when Smoker thought that Ace was stretched well enough he removed his fingers and received a low moan at the emptiness, Smoker placed the tip of his cock in front of the stretched hole, spread the legs wider and without warning pushed his length all the way into the boy's virgin hole.

"Aahh! ahh...guh...unmph..." screamed Ace taking deep breaths trying to get used to the sudden invasion, tears rolled down freely from the corners of his eyes while two strong hands gently roamed the surface of his body to calm the boy. "See, you can let your voice out after all" smiled Smoker giving the younger an apologetic kiss on the lips. "Idiot...it hurts..." groaned Ace moving his hips a little. Smoker pulled back and re-entered the virgin ass setting a slow pace and angling for Ace's prostate. He knew he found it when Ace bit his bottom again and speeded up his pace making the bed beneath them creak. "I told you its fine to let your voice out" said Smoker who's breathing had become uneven and seeing Ace wasn't going to be obedient he decided to apply a little pressure thrusting the sweet spot hard, earning a groan from the pirate, Smoker continued to thrust harder but made the speed of the thrust slow and thrust anywhere but at the prostate, this was enough to make Ace go mad.

"S-Smoker...Don't tease me..." moaned Ace, he wanted to get the friction and the speed back that made him feel good but every time Ace pushed down to get more of Smoker's cock inside him Smoker pulled away and slowly pushed back inside the tight ass. Ace couldn't take it anymore and wrapped his arms around Smoker's neck pulling the elder close so he could whisper in his ear panting. "Please...ugh...Smoker go faster...ahh...I need more of your cock inside me. Please...fuck me...faster"

Smoker smiled and decided not to torture the body beneath him any longer, he began to thrust into the boy hard and fast lifting Ace's legs onto his shoulders and closed the distance which made Ace cry out in pain mixed pleasure as Smoker went deeper inside him. Ace's cries were like music to his ears and he began to lose control as he quickened his pace impaling the tight hole harder and harder making Ace cry out in ecstasy. By now the sounds of quick breathing and skin slapping against skin could be heard, Smoker's cock was reaching its limit and so was Ace, Smoker reached for Ace's cock and gave the throbbing erection which was leaking precum quick hard strokes matching the rhythm to his own hard thrusts. Ace couldn't hold it any longer and came hard spilling his seed onto their chests and the hand stroking him tightening around Smoker's cock.

Smoker gave a few more hard thrusts before he spilled his seed deep inside Ace. His cock hand gone soft and he pulled out watching as some semen was leaking from Ace's hole. He lay beside Ace who was already half asleep and reached for the duvet to cover them both. Ace took one of Smoker's hands into his own and mumbled the words "I love you" before completely dropping off to sleep.

_To be continued..._

**Okay, another chapter complete! I haven't uploaded anything yet due to too much school work and my schedule became out of whack. BUT! I did manage to finish the fourth one so I'll try to make another one as soon as possible. Thanks for reading! =D**


	5. Chapter 5

All was peaceful at the Marine Headquarters where the sun shone on the two males that were sleeping soundly, uncaring that if anyone walked into the room they would both be in serious trouble. The first to awaken was a lithe body with a light tan. Ace yawned, blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes and turned his head to stare at his bed partner.

Smoker was in a deep sleep, his chest gently rising up and down in sync with his breathing. Ace reminded himself about yesterday's incident, he never would have thought that Smoker, a marine who had a high sense of justice, who always hated pirates, actually _slept_ with one. A small smile spread across his freckled face.

A crash suddenly broke the quiet morning, turning his head he could faintly hear shouts and quick footsteps echoing behind the door and quickly debated that staying any longer would be dangerous; he slowly heaved his worn-out body off the bed with his elbows and immediately felt a sharp sting on the lower half of his rear.

"Oww" placing a hand on his side, Ace tried to gather up any strength he had left and tried to leave when a large hand wrapped itself around his waist turning him on his side, Ace met face to face with a relaxed marine.

"You don't have to worry about the noise outside, someone probably did something wrong again. Your body still feels sore right? Just take your time to rest and then go back" suggested Smoker covering the boy's body with his own, Ace felt relaxed in the smoke man's arms and snuggled right up to the muscled chest falling asleep again but from time to time the rumbling of footsteps could still be heard making the young boy feel uneasy, he quietly got off the bed to prepare for a morning shower and leave straight after.

A few minutes later Smoker woke up to find Ace gone and running water could be heard, the captain slowly opened the bathroom door to see Ace standing under the shower nozzle rinsing his body clean. His eyes were closed as his head was tipped back allowing water to run down freely on his face. Smoker chuckled to himself quietly closing the door behind him and joined Ace with the shower. He frowned as soon as freezing cold water touched his skin and reached out to turn up the temperature.

"It's not good for your body to take such a cold shower, especially in the morning" Smoker wrapped his arms around Ace's chest and frowned even more as ice-cold hands touched his own. "How long have you been in here?"

"Not long. I do this all the time so you don't have to worry" said Ace leaning back against Smoker smiling lightly

Smoker hugged the small body closer and started to tease the neck with gentle nibbles sending tiny shivers throughout Ace's body. Releasing himself from Smoker's neck attack Ace turned around to give the marine a tender kiss on the lips which the marine returned affectionately. Placing a hand on the younger's cheek Smoker bit the soft lips hard earning a painful yelp making the lips part slightly.

A wet tongue immediately shoved itself between the parted lips and began to explore inside the moist cavern while sucking gently onto the bottom lip massaging the injured area. Ace wrapped an arm around Smoker's neck to pull himself closer, their tongues dancing together in the kiss while the other hand slowly snaked its way down to Smoker's cock giving it a gentle squeeze.

Smoker abruptly broke away from the kiss as a small hand leisurely stroked his half hardening member, Ace grinned as Smoker bit his bottom lip trying not to draw out any noises from just a hand job, the hand stroking the marine's cock suddenly quickened his pace making the smoke man gasp.

Never slowing the pace on the hand stroking Smoker's erection Ace decided to take it one step further, with the other free hand he slowly traced downwards onto the finely-toned chest feeling every part of the surface with his fingertips. The hand continued its way down until it came to level with the stroking hand.

Dropping down on his knees and without warning, Ace consumed Smoker's cock all the way down to the root, the sudden action made the marine let out a low groan. Enjoying the reaction that Smoker made, the young teen sucked quicker drawing more noises from the hunter. The captain gently gripped the raven's hair and watched as Ace sucked on his length passionately and at the same time massaging the balls below.

Soon, Smoker's breathing became uneven. He gripped the hair lightly, warning the kid that he was nearing his climax when a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Smoker Taisa! I'm sorry to disturb you during your sleep sir but we found a small boat hidden behind a couple of rocks, we asked the city's fishermen if they forgot their fishing boat but they said that they do not use a small boat like that, what shall we do Sir?"

Smoker presumed that the boat his subordinates found belonged to the brat in front of him. Looking down at the raven haired teen, his eyes met a pair of black orbs staring straight back at him with a worried expression on his face.

Smoker thought for a second before he came up with an idea. "Send a few men to guard the area the boat is placed in and carry on with the lookout for any pirates lurking around the city!"

"Understood Sir!" spoke the voice from behind the door

When the footsteps behind the door died down, Smoker sighed in relief but let out a gasp as Ace resumed his activity.

Sucking on his cock at incredible speed the marine captain had to throw back his head and let out a low moan of pleasure.

Knowing that Smoker was nearing his climax, Ace deliberately slowed down the pace when he felt the cock twitch in his mouth. He removed the cock from his mouth and ever so slowly stroked the captain's weeping erection.

Smoker growled when the need to come became more desperate, looking down a smirking pirate had both hands on his cock and ever so slowly stroked his weeping erection. Smoker frowned at the boy's slow movements as the need for release was becoming painful. He grabbed the younger's arm pulling him up and smashed their lips together in a bruising kiss.

Ace moaned as a tongue was roughly forced into his mouth and naturally danced together with Smoker's, both tongues began battling for dominance but of course Smoker won. Ace closed his eyes and allowed Smoker to freely roam in his mouth, feeling the invading tongue restlessly swirling around with his own, swapping saliva with each other as a new kind swept through his body.

Smoker slid an arm around Ace's waist pulling him close together while the other hand grabbed both their erections rubbing them together at a steady pace making Ace moan in pleasure.

Ace thought that he was dreaming, being this close to the person he loved and kissing him felt unreal.

He wanted to never wake up from dreamland but was abruptly pulled back into reality when he felt himself nearing his climax; he broke away from the kiss and leaned on Smoker's shoulder for support.

"Smo-Smoker...stop...I'm close..." Ace panted in Smoker's ear. "Me...Me too...let's cum together" said Smoker breathing heavily and speeding up his hand on their cocks. Both moaned and breathed more deeply signalling that neither of them could hold on for long.

With a few more strokes, both males came hard spilling their essences on each other's chests and abs and at the same time trying to make their breathing even again. After a few minutes of silence Ace removed himself from Smoker, deciding to get cleaned up and leave before the marines got to his boat.

Strong arms wrapped itself tightly around a thin waist while a mouth gave gentle nibbles along the collarbone leaving light purplish marks behind as though claiming its property

"Oi-Oi...Smoker, don't leave visible marks behind or it'll get suspicious" worried Ace while making sure to be as clean as possible due to their activities last night and getting caught was the last thing on his mind

"Don't worry; I haven't placed marks that you couldn't cover with the clothes you wear. Plus, they will disappear soon enough" reassured Smoker joining in with the shower

Fifteen minutes had gone with both men dressed in fresh clothes, Ace double checked in his rucksack making sure that he didn't leave or forget anything behind. Once the coast was clear and no footsteps could be heard, Ace walked with haste trying to reach the front door of the Marine Headquarters closely followed by Smoker.

As soon as Ace tried to reach for the handle he was suddenly pulled backwards, his backside meeting a toned chest and a gloved hand clamped tight to his mouth. "Mphm!" came the muffled reply from the teen and glared at the elder, wondering why they have stopped and covering his mouth out of the blue.

"Shh...Look over there" silenced Smoker placing across his lips. He tilted his head forward gesturing Ace to have a look at the situation. Ace turned to the direction Smoker signalled to and watched as four low ranking marines walked past the hallway. Ace's eyes followed every movement of the marines when they walked past and breathed out a sigh of relief once they were gone.

The moment his men were out of sight, Smoker removed his hand from Ace's mouth and without wasting time pulled the boy by the wrist, ran through the back door and immediately mixed in with the pedestrians that were slowly beginning to increase in number.

Both men breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they were well away from the marines and walked slowly to catch their breaths. "Wow, that's Marine Headquarters for you. The security is always tight around here" laughed Ace but Smoker growled at the comment and instead looked around for any food shops that were open. He saw a small cafe with a few customers already seated at a table and gestured for Ace to go in.

A table that was far away from any doors and windows were chosen so that a marine and a pirate would be hard to spot especially from people who liked to gossip. Ten minutes later, with two plates and cups empty, Smoker paid the bill, walked out of the cafe and noticed that the number of people had increased and also most of the shops were open for business.

Ace followed right after Smoker and smiled at the crowd of people who were so busy hustling around the streets and amusing themselves with shops and small talks. Ace decided to entertain himself since he would be going back to his own ship anyway and dragged Smoker along wherever he went even with the constant protests coming from the marine.

A long time has passed since the sun had gone down and the evening atmosphere had already set in, when Ace and Smoker finally decided to take a break at a rocky area from all the crazy activities. "Wow. That was fun, maybe we should do this again sometime" laughed Ace

"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've taken a break from work" smiled Smoker sitting down next to Ace and staring straight out to the sea. They stayed in silence for a while enjoying the sun setting down slowly reflecting its radiance onto the surface of the water when Ace suddenly stood up.

"What's wrong?" asked Smoker gently holding onto Ace's wrist

"I just remembered, I promised my old man that I would be back for dinner and before dark as well!""Didn't your subordinates say that they found my boat? I hope they didn't move it or anything, I won't be able to go back to the ship without that" replied Ace looking a little flustered and grabbing his rucksack.

"I told them not to do anything yet so they shouldn't have moved it, let's go"

They both kept on running until they were close to the rocky area where Ace's boat was supposed to be docked but hid themselves immediately when scuttling footsteps were heard. At least five marines were guarding the suspicious boat. _"Great..."_ thought Ace.

Just then a group of marines walked towards the guarded area and stopped as a man with the same ranking as Smoker appeared from behind. "Hmm, mustn't be too reckless, let's think of a pl-" began Smoker but before he could finish, Ace had already taken off and silenced the marines, including their superior in the blink of an eye.

"Did you say something Smokey?" asked Ace turning his head and grinning in triumph. "Not too hard was it?"

"You..." sighed Smoker rubbing his head in frustration. "Whitebeard pirates are so reckless. What happens if anybody sees you?" said Smoker walking forward and inspecting the unconscious men

"Don't worry; I'm pretty careful so I knocked them out quickly before I was seen" smiled Ace casually walking towards his boat and getting ready to leave.

Turning around to check for any signs of suspicious movements, Ace began to get his boat geared up before throwing his rucksack into the empty space and turned around just in time to see a pair of strong arms wrap itself around his body.

Ace returned the hug affectionately and hoped that they could both stay like that forever but he didn't want his old man to worry about him too much so, pulling away gently Ace leaned forward and kissed Smoker on the cheek.

"I have to go now; I'll see you again tomorrow"

Smoker placed a light kiss on Ace's forehead and stepped back slowly and smiled as he watched Ace push his boat into the water, step into the boat and was off in a matter of seconds.

When Ace had gone a few miles away, Tashigi came running towards her captain with a few of the lower ranking marines and gasped at the number of bodies that were on the floor and looked up to catch a glimpse of a small figure in the distance.

"They're only unconscious so they shouldn't have any injuries, a few of you, tend to the men on the floor, the rest of you can continue the lookout for anything unusual. Tashigi, come with me"

When they returned to the Marine Headquarters, Tashigi couldn't stand the awkward silence.

"Taisa, may I ask who that was in the boat just now and did that person have anything to do with all the men on the floor?"

"It was Portgas D. Ace" Smoker replied calmly

"Eh! Then did you manage to catch him but was set free by his comrades? Should we call for backup?"

"That's not necessary, he was with me when all of them were unconscious, I just set him free. As for his comrades, I haven't seen any of them yet"

Tashigi was shocked to hear that her own superior allowed a pirate to escape "Smoker Taisa, why did you set him free? If we brought him back we could interrogate him and ask him where Whitebeard is"

"That's not it Tashigi, if you catch him like that he won't spill anything that way. I had reports about him on every Blackbeard case so I think he's trying to catch Blackbeard like we are, if I get closer to him and get him trust me then he'll lead us straight to him. Plus, if we actually kept that brat in the gallows Whitebeard may wipe out the whole area just to find him"

"So you're just using Portgas D. Ace as bait then? Would this plan actually work?" questioned Tashigi

Smoker lit two cigarettes and took a deep breath to breathe in the tobacco. "Yes it would. He told me he loved me so I think it'll be a great chance for me to get near that kid. We're starting to get pretty close-"

"He...He loves you? Then do you love him back?"

"Tashigi, I've told you before. If I can get him to like me and trust me then-"

"Smoker Taisa, I don't think it would be a good idea to play with someone's heart if they truly love you"

The marine leaned back in his chair and sighed while looking straight into the girl's eyes. "Listen up and listen well Tashigi. If I need to use the bait I'll need it to trust me and bring me to the target, anything else that happens doesn't matter"

"Taisa, I understand that you wish to capture Blackbeard as soon as possible but if Portgas finds out that you're just using him then you'll hurt his feelings, and it can also hurt yours..." Tashigi concluded

"Tashigi!" Smoker raised his voice slightly which shook the girl a little. She never heard her captain raise his voice at all, this made Smoker frown. "Look, I will handle Portgas, you and the rest of the group will carry on capturing the Whitebeard pirates. Also, no one must know about this conversation that we just had. Understand?"

"Yes Sir, I understand. I'll excuse myself then. Have a good evening Sir"

Smoker nodded and sat back in his chair as soon as the door closed with a click. "It'll hurt his feelings, eh?" repeated Smoker staring at the ceiling and closing his eyes.

_To be continued..._

**It's been a while since I've written a story due to the exams earlier on but now I'm free! I'll try and finish this couple as soon as I can. Also, I am really grateful to the people who have been commenting on this story; it allowed me to know what mistakes needed to be corrected. Thanks a lot.**


	6. Chapter 6

It took Ace an hour and a half until he finally caught up to where his ship was lodged. His comrades had kindly come out of their rooms to help Ace to store his boat. As soon as the freckled teen reached his room he sprawled onto the bed and gave a sigh of relief.

Thirty minutes have passed since Ace had returned to the ship and now he had his hands behind his head, his eyes were closed and the corner of his lips etched into a smile. Just thinking about the time that he had spent with Smoker was overflowing him with delight, so absorbed into his own little world Ace failed to sense a presence in his room.

"Someone's in a good mood today. Did something great happen?"

Upon hearing a voice Ace snapped back into reality and tried to get himself in a sitting position but instead, fell off the bed and landed on the floor. Face first.

"That hurt! Who the hell is it coming into other people's ro-jeez Marco! If you're going to come in then knock on the door" replied Ace rubbing his sore red nose

"Ha-ha, I've been knocking on your door to tell you that it's time for dinner but you didn't answer me so I came in to get you myself" smiled Marco. "So, what were you thinking about? Come on, tell me"

"Oh that...Err...I'm starving! Let's eat first, come on Marco!" as quick as a flash Ace got up from the floor and ran past his comrade to join the other crewmates who were tucking in on their meal. _"That was close..."_ thought Ace as be began to tuck in like the rest of the group. Marco took his place next to Ace.

"Fine, I'll let you off for now but you have to tell me later okay?" said Marco chuckling to himself when he saw Ace nearly choke on his meat.

After the meal Ace went straight to his room to unpack his belongings. Taking out his clothes from yesterday and any other things that he had used, he headed for the shower room to clean his dirty garments so that they could be worn again. Once all the clothes were washed and hung up he decided to head back to his room to relax when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. Ace spun round to see Marco with a happy expression on his face.

"Yo Ace, let's hear the rest of that story shall we?" placing an arm around Ace's shoulder and ushering him into the room.

"O-oi Marco..." trying to free himself from Marco's clutches but failed, Ace could only let out a sigh of defeat and sat down onto his bed while his friend sat in a chair with an attentive expression like a child that wanted to hear the complete story from an adventure book.

"Okay come on spill the beans, why the happy face?"

Taking a deep breath, Ace began "I'm seeing someone right now, I bumped into a friend yesterday and I stayed at their place until this morning. End of story" once Ace was finished he looked at his friend who was raising an eyebrow.

"That was really short...so basically you met up with someone you liked, stayed at their place and slept with them eh?" Ace flinched at the last comment

"Why would you think that I slept with that person?"

"I'll give you one good reason why I think you slept with someone. Those marks on your neck kind of gives it away" replied Marco pointing to the light purplish areas

"_Shit, they still haven't disappeared!"_Ace quickly covered his neck with his hand scowling at his friend who was laughing.

"But that's not all, since you told me you're not into girls and you like people older than you, if my deduction is correct the person you slept with is someone who is be older than you and to top it off, a man"

After Marco had finished he looked at Ace who was giving him an angry look.

"Why is it that you're so good at finding your nakama's weaknesses but never use those skills in combat? Look. Just don't let anybody know about this okay? Especially the old man."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me" making a zipping movement across his lips with two fingers Marco smiled and gave a gentle pat on Ace's shoulder. "I bet you're exhausted, I'll talk to you tomorrow morning" getting up from the chair Marco did a light stretch and walked out of the room and began closing the door but paused for a brief moment. "I forgot to tell you, there's been an increase with the number of marines patrolling around the city so be careful if you're going out"

Once the door finally closed with a click Ace sighed, opened the window to allow the sea breeze pass through and leaned back on his pillow staring at the ceiling. He wondered if Marco had found out about his and Smoker's relationship but was kind enough not to say it out loud, nevertheless Ace knew that he could trust his friend with his secret even if he _did_ find out. Closing his eyes and trying to block out the noises from outside the freckled teen slowly drifted off to sleep.

Morning came with the sun's rays seeping through the glassless window and shining bright light onto Ace's empty pillow. At the top of the crow's nest, staring at the sunlight with an expression of tranquillity and lips etched into a smile, a brain deep in thought sat the fire user. Down below, a figure gave a light chuckle.

"...ce! Hey Ace! Come down! It's time for breakfast!"

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a familiar voice calling his name and looked down to see Izo waving at him

Ace jumped down from the crow's nest heading straight for the floor. Any normal person would have their bones broken into pieces but Ace managed to stop the speed of the impact by grabbing onto the ship's rope just in time giving him a soft landing.

Izo smiled and placed an arm on Ace's shoulder

"You really like watching sunrises don't you? I can't believe that you got up before seven o'clock just to watch that, its freezing cold in the mornings. Oh well, let's get you warmed up shall we?" and together they joined the rest of their nakama to have breakfast.

After the meal Ace was stuck with cleaning duty so he went to the storage cupboard and began mopping the floor. He ran up and down the deck trying to keep the floors clean and spotless but also finish his job as quickly as possible. Once done, Ace placed everything back to where it belonged and went back into his room taking a large rucksack from his cupboard.

He decided to take most of his belongings with him since he won't be coming home anytime soon and he knew the journey to find Blackbeard would take longer than just a trip or two. "Damn! If I knew I was on cleaning duty I would have done this yesterday" half mumbling and grumbling to himself, Ace managed to pack everything he needed and set off.

Information was that Blackbeard had been seen in Orange Town so Ace decided to take a look. When he reached the outskirts of town he dragged his boat to a safer area or at least making his boat really hard to spot unlike last time. _Damn marines!_ He saw a bunch of broken tree branches and leaves spread on the floor and decided to make use of them.

Ten minutes later a tired and exhausted fire user wobbled his way through the buzzing crowd of citizens while at the same time getting anonymous stares from the people that walked past him as he brushed off twigs, leaves and mud that were attached to his clothes.

After spending half the day searching for Blackbeard with no luck, Ace finally decided to take a break. Sitting down under a tree he took out a bottle of water and a bento that had been given to him earlier by the cook.

"As expected, our ship's cook is the best" commenting through a mouthful of fried shrimp and rice. Gobbling down the rest of his lunch and washing it down with water Ace gave a sigh of relief and looked around for any signs of Blackbeard or his crew but there were none. The only things that could be seen or heard were the lively chatter from the citizens, boys and girls running around chasing one another, baby birds constantly chirping. It was a town filled with joy and happiness and Ace wished that it would always stay that way forever.

Lifting himself off the grass and grabbing his rucksack Ace headed towards a lodge called Trafalgar Tavern that he had found earlier and requested for a room. The landlady guided to where Ace would be staying and politely excused herself while she headed back downstairs to serve another customer.

Ace immediately made himself at home. Dumping his bag on the bed and opening the window to keep an eye for any signs of Blackbeard and his crew, he would not give up until he had actually caught that bastard with his own hands. Thinking back to the times that they had spent together as crewmates was pretty fun until Teach had to kill the fourth division's captain Thatch for a devil fruit and running away from the consequences. So, as the second division's captain he could not just let this matter pass.

Grabbing a towel from his bag Ace headed to the bathroom for a shower to freshen up as trying to hide the boat got mud of his newly washed clothes. Fifteen minutes later a refreshed teen came out of the shower with a white towel wrapped around his waist, he peered out of his window again to check for any signs of Blackbeard or his underlings lurking around.

Reading the piece of paper that he had received from an informant, Ace wondered if the information he received was real. This annoyed him more because not only was he spending his free time trying to find the traitor but he could actually be with Smoker right now. Seeing as there were no signs of them anywhere, Ace turned away from the window and began unpacking. Unknowing to the teen, he was being watched between an alleyway.

"Hey, did you see who that was? Portgas D. Ace!"

"Yeah I saw him too! It's definitely him! Shall we get him now Tashigi Sama?"

"No. Report back to the Headquarters first. Let Smoker Taisa know about this and he'll give us more details about what to do next"

"Yes ma'am!"

Back at the Marine Headquarters, Tashigi reported what she had seen to her half naked superior.

"Hmm so it's true then. What's his next move?" asked Smoker sipping a cup of coffee and reading another pirate report that got send to him earlier

"He's staying in a place called Trafalgar Tavern which is in Orange town, shall wait and then ambush him or-"

"No, don't do that. He'll find out otherwise. I'll get in contact with him, are there any information relating the Whitebeard pirates?"

"We found out where they were hiding Sir. It's located in the Midway Forest, that place is the most dangerous place no wonder we couldn't find them, I'm assuming the second in command was also staying there too before he decided to move out and search for Blackbeard"

Upon hearing the name, Smoker froze completely. _"Does that mean that brat was in Midway Forest and came through just to get here? What recklessness! But then again...it's not like he's the type of guy to think of a plan first...if he does get injured-"_

"Taisa! Smoker Taisa!"

Smoker was unexpectedly pulled out of his thoughts and looked up to see Tashigi staring at him with a questioning look on her face. Gingerly taking a small sip of coffee, Smoker slowly relaxed and set the cup back on the saucer.

"Smoker Taisa are you alright? You seem to be spacing out a lot. What were you thinking about just now?"

"Err...no-nothing...Don't worry about it..."

There's no way he could tell his subordinate that he was thinking about Ace just now. "Go to the Midway Forest; bring a group of men with you too"

"Understood Sir, what shall we do about Portgas D. Ace?"

"Leave him to me. I can handle him, see if you can get close to the area and if possible capture a few Whitebeard pirates but if too many people are injured then quit the task and come back"

"Yes Sir!" and with a salute to her superior, Tashigi marched out of the room leaving Smoker alone to think about Ace again

Leaning back in his chair and letting out a deep sigh, Smoker rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What was I thinking...Since when was I worried about pirates...but then again...I'm trying to get close to that brat so just pretending to worry about him should be fine right?"

Shaking his head and sighing for the second time, the smoke man got up from his chair. "Orange Town huh? Maybe I should pay that town a visit once in a while". Grabbing his jacket from the cupboard and lighting up two cigars, Smoker closed the door with a loud bang.

_To be continued..._

Personally I think the last bit was a little difficult to write. I always find it hard to begin the story and end it, I'm not sure if that happens to any of you but that's how I feel. I'm still inexperienced so if anybody thinks I should change something then just tell me, I don't mind XD


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